Road rail



Nov. 3, 1925.

H. A. TRESTER 'Fled aaron 1s, 1922 Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

entren saIArs HERAULT AA. TRESTER, F MILWAUKEE, 4VlIISCONSIN, ASSIGNORTO..METAL FRMS 00.13,-A PORATION, OEMILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AJGORBORATION...

` ROAD RAIL,

.Application1 led March 15. 1922'. Seria1'No.544;0255

To` all whomz'tmag/ concern.'

Beit-known that I, ,HERAULT A. Transfert, a` citizen ofthe United States, residing at Milwaukee, inthe county. ofMilwaulee and l 5 State of` Wisconsin, have; invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Road- Rails, of whichthe following is a specification.

Thelpresent; inventioni relatesL to certain new andusefuliimprovements in thefconstruction of what are commonly. known inthe art ofi road buildings as road-f rails or. formsa railsare ordinarily positioneduponthe subgrade at.` opposite sides oi!" the road randthey concrete or plastic. materiali deposited and distributed between the rails. After the concrete has set the rails are removed so that they are used progressively as the building of the road proceeds. advantageous to mount" quite number of the roadbuilding appliances, such as sub'- grade planers and 'iinishingV `machines upon i wheels or trucks which travel upon they rails, so that'the rail. members not only: server as forms orthe edge portions oithe'concrete roador pavement, but are` called upon to support and carryrather heavy loads.

Keeping the foregoing considerations in mind, the'object of` the invention has Kbeen to provide a. road rail which embodies novel features of construction whereby a maX1- mum degree of strength and stability is obtained. for the amount of material which In the construction` of roads` from plastic material suchas concretethese.

Ithas been found tionyreferenee" is:y to; beir had. toithef follow#- ing jdescriptionaand accompanying-f drawings Figurealisfafperspective View off-fal roadj rail `which is iconstructediinf..accordatice-witlL thefinvention;v

Figure 2, isl a. detail""viewe1 oft one endf oil' 55 the rail:

Eiguref 3.1 is anu enlarged transverse i' tional View`H` throughu the` rah. talzlenj at? an point intermediate of awpair'ofthe-bomorF brace y members;`

Figure'il isfasi1`nilar=-viewwhich isrtaklen on ai line. extending.) thlroughl one ofiI the boxes i or E brace members.;A

Gorrespondingr`- andw like parte' arere-4 ferred to in thefollowingdescription` and indicated ontw all 1 of the' views# by like ret"L erence characters;

The improvedroad rail isf-adapted'ftdbel formed: of; sheet material which mayvbe Voi? any. suitable thickness f orv1 gauge', depending 70 upon: the loadsJ to be carried thel rail" and i the conditions under which it isfto f berused: The numeral: l` designates the rail base and' fther working face 2 oli the Era-iliexs tendsf'iupwardlyf from they inner :edge 'of l"the 75 base; Thev railghead'ds :formed by 'bendingAT the sheetfmetal:rearwardlyfatvthe -top ofithe-V Workingvface, and afidepending" flangej 4-ex= tends diagonally downward lfrom the outer edgefo'ithehead. Thebaserl, workingfface 80 2,1head3 anddepenrdi'ng flange cfmay all be readily formed by suitablybendingJL asingle blank fof sheet inmaterial las is indi-cated by-.ther drawing;

The. rail fis providedat intervals -through 85 out its length with/ithefhollow box membersl 5 which perform` the' double" function of stiffening fand hreenforcing thel rail- "an'dfalso of?receivingthenstalresV These box' mem: bers 5".7 extend transverselyofn therailand` 90 have` auA arched or" inverted shapedL for: mation which* gives them great inherent* strenggthll It will :Talso be ob'servedithat they have afI tapered formation andi that" the arched@ top portions thereof-i aref inclined'-, 95 downwardly'` and 'rearwardly away from -the U support the rails in proper position.

working face 2. The lower edges of the box members 5 are formed with outstanding flanges 6 which are riveted to the base l, and the inner ends of the box members abut against the upright wall of the rail and are provided at the sides thereofI with flanges 7 which are riveted or otherwise securely fastened to the wall 2. The flared inner ends of the box members 5 have a height which corresponds substantially with the height of the rail so that the upright walls 2 of the rails are braced by these boxes throughout their entire height.

The depending flange 4 of the head 3 terminates in an outwardly inclined lip 3 which rests upon the inclined upper portions of the box members 5 and is rigidly connected thereto in some suitable manner as .by means of the rivets 9. This rflange thus has a firm support at its lower edgek and the flange acts in an obvious manner to stiifen and reinforce the head 3 of the rail. A maximum strength is obtained for the material used and the'head of the rail is such that it will support heavy superimposed loads and withstand much battering and hardusage without becomingbent or distorted out of shape. y

The base 1 may extend over a comparatively large area so as to obtain a firm bearing upon the subgrade and corresponding stake receiving openings 10 are formed in the rear ends of the box members 5 and the base 1. These openings are adapted to receive the usual stakes 11 upon which the rails are supported and any suitable means may be provided for locking the rails in position upon the stakes. In the present instance the sides of the hollowfbox members are provided with corresponding slots 12 which are adapted to receive wedge members 13. The wedge members; can be readily driven into and out of position and are adapted to grip the sides of the stakes to T he hollow box members are spaced apart at suit-able intervals to stiften and reinforce'the rail in the desired manner and the parts are rigidly fastened together so that a construction which has a great deal of inherent rigidity is obtained.

These rails are formed in suitable lengths which are adapted to be used interchangeably and which are held together and maint tained in alignment by meansof suitable couplings. As indicated by Figure 1 of the drawing, one end of each of the rail sections n isy provided with a projectionV 14 which is adapted to telescope within the end of an adjacent rail section for the purpose of holding the two rail sections accurately in alignment. The projection or joint member 14 maybe conveniently formed from an arched strip of sheet material which is bent to conform with the shape of the rail andhas the arched top thereof arranged under the rail head 3. One side or arm of this member is riveted or otherwise secured to the upright wall 2 of the rail, -while the other sideof the member forms a strap which connects the depending flange 4 to the base 1. This strap braces the parts at the joint connection between the meeting ends of adjacent rail sections, and is provided at its lower end with an outstanding tongue 14a which is riveted to the base. The opposite end of each of the rail sections, as is illustrated by Figure 2, is adapted to receive the joint member or projection 14 of an adjacent rail section, and is provided upon its base with an upstanding lug 15 which is slightly spaced from the upright wall 2 and is adapted to engage and interlock the corresponding lower end of the projection 14. The arched upper end of the coupling member 14 interlocks with the head portion of the rail and one of the lower ends of the coupling member interlocks with the lug 15, so that the abutting ends of adjacent rail sections are maintained in an accurate alignment with each other. These rail sections may be used interchangeably with other rail sections having corresponding coupling ends, and the other rail sections may be of either a heavierl construction or a lighter construction, as may be desired. This manner of constructing the rails enables great rigidity and strength to be obtained in a comparatively light weight rail, although it will be obvious that where greater strength is required thicker and heavier material can be used. The rail head is stilfened and formed in such a manner that it is capable of resisting the battering action of wheels and trucks thereon, and the rail is well adapted for the support of such road building appliances as subgrade planers and surface finishing machines which are commonly mounted to travel upon these rails.

It will be noted that owing to the inclina` tion of the-hollow brace boxes 5 the head of the rail is in effect stilfened and re-inforced at intervals by diagonal braces. It will be obvious from an inspection of Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing that the upper ends of the hollow boxes 5 extend diagonally between the inner edge of the head 3 of the rail and the lower edge of the flange 4 at the outer portion of the rail. The diag onal arrangement and disposition of these braces results in imparting rigidity to the `head which enables it to carry heavy lo-ads and withstand hard usage.

lllhile one possible embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail it will be obvious that many modifications and changes can be made in the details of construction without departing in any manner from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what ltlli l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A rail form of the character described, including a body portion formed with an upright working face, and a series of transversely disposed hollow arch shaped reinforcements engaging the back of the working face and inclined downwardly and rearward ly therefrom, the front end of the arched reinforcements extending the full height of the upright working face and the inclined tops thereof forming substantially diagonal brace members.

2. A rail form of the character described, including a body member formed with an upright working face, a series of transverse reinforcements extending` rearwardly from the working face, and a rail head provided at the top of the working face and formed with a depending flange which is spaced from the base throughout its length and which rests upon and is secured at intervals to the rein` forcement-s.

3. A rail form of the character described, including a body portion formed with an upright working face and a rearwardly extending head at the top of the working face, said head having a depending flange at the free edge thereof which is spaced throughout its length from the body portion, and a series of transversely disposed hollow arch shape reinforcements extending rearwardly from the back of the working face and inclined downwardly, the forward ends of the arched reinforcements extending the full height of the working face, the depending :flange of the head engaging the top of said reinforcements.

el. A rail form of the character described, including a body member formed of sheet metal and comprising a base, working face and head, the head being provided with a depending flange which is spaced throughout its length from the base, and a series of hollow and transversely disposed reinforcements applied at intervals to the base and back of the working face, said reinforcements extending the full height of the wor face and being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the working face, and projecting beyond the head, the projecting portions of the reinforcements being provided with stake engaging means and the depending flange of the head being secnied to the top of the reinforcements.

5. A rail form of the character described, including a body member formed of sheet inetd and comprising a base, working face and head, the head being formed with a depending iiange having an angularly disposed lip at the edge thereof andwhich is spaced throughout its length from the base, a seA of transversely disposed arched reinforcements applied at intervals to the base and back of the working face and tapered toward the back of theirail, thelarge enfle of the reinforcements extending'` substantially the full height of the working face and the lip of the depending flange of thehead. being secured tothe top of the reinforce.- ments.

(i. A rail form of the class described, comprising a body provided with an upright working face and a rearwardly extendine` head projecting from the upper Adge oir said face, together with a base extending laterally from the lower edge of the said face, and stake boxes located at intervals along the body member' and of substantially inverted lJ-form, said stake boxes being secured to the base and having their top portions inclining upwardly and in engagement with the outer side of the upright working face of the body member.

7. A rail form of the character described, including a section formed with a base, working face and head, a coupling tongue projecting from one end of the section and having an arched formation, one side of the coupling tongue being secured to the back of the working face while the other side thereof extends between the head and the base and reinforces the head, the opposite end of the section being adapted to receive the coupling tongue of an adjacent section, and a lug on the base of the opposite end of the section adapted to engage and position the coupling tongue.

8. A rail form comprising a body member having a base, an upright working face extending from said base and outwardly projecting rail head leading from the upper portion of the said working face, and a stake box applied to the said form body and comprising a substantially inverted U-shaped member the sides of which are formed with horizontal lateral flanges secured to the base aforesaid, and said sides also having vertical lateral flanges which are secured to the outer side of the working face of the body member of the form, said stake box being provided with a stake socket therein.

9. A rail form comprising a body member consisting of a base from which upwardly projects an upright working face at the top of which is located a lateral rail head, and stake boxes located at intervals along the body member and consisting of structures of substantially inverted U-form, with means for attaching said structures to the base and to the working face of the rail form at the outer side of said face, the top of each box inclining upwardly and inwardly toward the rail head to a point where it meets the outer side of the working face adjacent to where said rail head extends from said face, whereby each box forms a rigid bracing means for the form intermediate its head and base.

l0. In a rail form, a body member consisting of a relatively Wide base having an upwardly projecting Working face extending from one edge thereof and formed with a lateral head flange much narrower than the said base, and a series of attached bra@ ing devices consisting of members rigidly secured to the base and ineliningv upwardly therefrom to a point beneath the said head flange, and rigidly attached to the outer side of the working face substantially as de- 10 scribed.

In testimony Whereoil I afix my signature.

HERAULT A. TRESTER. 

